This was a surprisingly tasteful cover-up for a building undergoing restoration in Florence. Maybe the garish advertising appeared later, as you would see shielding similar work in Venice. Or, perhaps Florence has different by-laws to regulate what is used during the restoration phase?
When I first saw this, I didn't even realise I was looking at a covering applied while work was going on underneath it.
Hello World 
You’re so right, Lynn, it must be so expensive just to try to maintain these ancient buildings, let alone restore them. To my eyes, I find the graffiti more offensive than the advertising, which is at least paying for a positive outcome.
Three months is like a dream come true, Lynn.
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I hate the advertising too but it helps to pay the enormous restoration bill which otherwise will come out of Italian and tourist pockets.
My first ever exposure to the photographic facades was in Venice where they did a fantastic job in about 2004 I think, before they took up the advertising.
Yvonne, how do you manage three months there. You lucky thing.
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Buongiorno, Steven. Oh, what a picture you have created in my mind’s eye! I hope no one from Pirelli stumbles across this little snippet of communication …
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Very very interesting. It doesn’t have to be so offensive, does it? When will people everywhere finally decide they’ve had enough of this overwhelming corporate garbage?
But I guess it will also be “interesting” when David sports a Pirelli logo across his chest like the jersey of the Inter Milan calcio club.
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See you soon, Mary. The flights: like Scarlett “I’ll think about that tomorrow.”
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See you there Yvonne……. and I hope the flight’s okay.
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Hello Yvonne! Still in Italy so… I hope we’ll meet again soon in Venice!
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Ciao, Pierre and Isa.
I’ll be there for 3 months, from Saturday. What a wonderful experience that will be. And you? When will you next be there?
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Everything packed? Check.
Everything repacked? Check.
Decide to use different cabin luggage? Check.
Repack the cabin luggage? Check.
Forget where you put plug adapter? Check.
Passport in usual place? Check.
(Is it Friday yet?)
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Everything packed? Repacking things? Checking to see if your passport is in that special place again?
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Hi, Brian the Bloke! I’ll have to find more photos of Florence, just for you!
I have discovered I have a new talent: climbing walls! 🙂 (3 days.)
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Hey! I know that place! It’s just south of Santa Croce.
(and I found I can respond with my office computer)
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The first time I went to Venice, there were several palazzi on the Grand Canal with those tasteful coverings that showed what the building looked like; it’s been all downhill since then with the coverings becoming more and more garish. 😦
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Good morning, Annie. I was just thinking that in our relatively new countries, we haven’t really run into the wide problem of expensive restorations. Let’s see what happens when it is necessary; I’d be willing to bet that the need for the money to do the work will trump any consideration of good taste!
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Hi, Jude. Well, it’ll be interesting to see what eventuates, eh?
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I was watching a late night comic (I think it was Jimmy Kimmel) and they mentioned the news about advertising space on the monuments in Italy. I just assumed it was something Jimmy Kimmel made up for his monologue! I had no idea anyone was serious.
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This is how they used to do it in Venice. I remember seeing Ca’Foscari with one of these painted ‘facades’ in 2001- and being SO impressed. Surely there can be a middle ground between the totally ad free and what we’ve seen in Venice over the past few years – which is just gruesome.
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Hi, Mary
Yes I wonder what we’ll see this time. I look forward to meeting a fellow Aussie!
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It was on our nightly news that with the financial crisis they are thinking of selling advertising space on all the major monuments all over Italy…not just those under restoration.
Although the one I loved in Venice my first trip did not have advertising but a mirrored surface reflecting the palazzo acrossed the Grand Canal. I do like the idea of putting what it is supposed to look like…without the advertising or maybe a small, tasteful sign saying “brought to you by….”
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The blasted economy, eh? If only they would do something tasteful, it would be so much more acceptable. Remember the somewhat scantily clad lass on the church (San Simeone Piccolo) across from the railway station? What were they thinking! 🙂
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Venice is the only place (in Italy) that I can recall seeing the dreaded advertisements. Perhaps it’s done elsewhere in Italy; someone may enlighten us.
It looks as though I’ll get to see the dear old drunken Noah again, anyhow. 🙂
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Excellent, and not just Firenze. For example, when the Siena Cathedral facade was being restored (several years), the safety screen had a quite good resolution picture (full sized) of the actual facade. A few feet in front of the “real” facade, on the scaffolding, but a great sustainer of the sense of the place while the church was “out for cleaning”, so to speak. We’ve seen this in a number of cities, and the projects were funded including grants with credits far, far more tastefully made known to the viewing public than for most of what happens in Venice.
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That is VERY cool.
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Aha! Here you are, Darlene. You were in the spam folder, then vanished.
Yes, isn’t that a nice thing to look at?
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